Our Verdict

The Five Ten Anasazi LV is an all-around climbing shoe that is comfortable and exceptionally grippy - all while providing high performance. Though it has a flatter profile similar to the Evolv Kira, the Anasazi is more on par with technical shoes like the La Sportiva Miura - Women's. This model performs on vertical terrain where edging abilities and precision are essential and shine in providing all-day comfort and crack climbing prowess. Comfortable and not super aggressive in shape, they are a good candidate for long multi-pitch climbs as well. Their crack climbing comfort, and sticky, precise sole and toe box make the Anasazi our Top Pick for Crack Climbing and All-Day Comfort.

Compare to Similar Products

Our Analysis and Test Results

Combining comfort, sensitivity, and edging prowess into one Velcro slipper makes the Five Ten Anasazi LV a favorite for comfortable, all-day trad climbing. These shoes can stand on small edges or be comfortably wedged in hand or finger cracks. Their Velcro closure makes them incredibly easy to take on and off.

Performance Comparison

Looking for precision in the fairly floppy Anasazi can be unnerving at first, but many appreciate the comfort these shoes offer and get used to their soft feel.

Comfort

The women's model of the Anasazi is the "LV" version, meaning Low Volume. It is similar to the unisex Five Ten Anasazi VCS, but it has a narrower and subtly longer toe box, a higher arch with a lower instep, and a lower heel cup, all designed with the intention of better fitting female feet. The well-padded tongue flaps make the shoe adjustable for different foot widths and also add comfort to the top of the foot for climbing cracks.

The Cowdura, or synthetic suede, used by Five Ten in the Anasazi makes them soft and comfortable after they break in. The heel is the only area where trouble could arise since it is tight around the top and can be baggy in the lower part of the heel. In more aggressive slippers like the Lotus, this is less of an issue. Unlike the Evolv Kira, the Anasazi comes up high in the ankle, which scored points in the comfort department.

Sensitivity

The Anasazi scores highly in our sensitivity metric. They stuck to any surface, and we could feel the micro-edges and features through the toe.

Five Ten C4 Stealth rubber is known for being super sticky, and the Anasazi make no exceptions. The Anasazi seems made to fit comfortably when sized tight, and the sensitivity increases as your toes push into the front of the shoe. After sizing it fairly small, we found that it stretched just a little bit over time, and ended up fitting our foot exactly and comfortably. Their relatively flat shape makes them comfortable, but they are stiff enough to be able to stand on small holds without tiring your feet out too much. The Miura is a similar shoe regarding sensitivity, but has more of a pointed toe box, making them even more precise.

Off the deck, we found the Anasazi to be a bit soft, but good enough on the giant holds found in the Tablelands.

Edging

Since they work well when it comes to sensitivity, it is no surprise that this shoe can also perform well as an edging shoe.

The rubber is sticky, and there is plenty of it, unlike the Scarpa Vapor, which have a much thinner rubber sole on the toe box. This makes the Anasazi a decent edging shoe, even though they do not provide very much support in the midsole. Their lack of support in the midsole is somewhat made up for the stiffness in the toe box, directly under the balls of the feet. Here, we found the shoes provided ample support and enough stiffness to feel confident on small edges when the crack systems ran out. That said, the consensus was that the Anasazi is categorized as a soft shoe overall. For a stiffer model that will still excel in the splitters, try the Butora Libra, which is a solid edging shoe.

Even in painful foot jams, the Anasazi provides comfort with is leather upper and well-padded tongue.

Crack Climbing

In our opinion, it is in this category that the Anasazi excels. Regarding durability, we have found that Velcro shoes or slippers work better in cracks since the laces are often the first place to wear out on lace-ups.

The Anasazi is also well padded on the top and has a decent amount of rubber on the sides of the toe box, which helps in wider cracks form hand cracks to off-widths. Shoes that came close to the Anasazi concerning comfort were the La Sportiva Finale and the Evolv Kira. The Finale is a lace-up model, though, so may experience more wear if used for continuous, repeated jamming. The Anasazi is closely related to the Five Ten Moccasym, which is a unisex model designed specifically for crack climbing. These slippers are the tool of choice for the splitter cracks of the Utah desert.

It does better on vertical terrain than on steep terrain but can hold its own in pockets. The Anasazi also lacks the asymmetrical toe box that is ubiquitous among sport climbing shoes nowadays. This taper allows shoes like the Solution to fit into tiny pockets with ease - something that the bulkier toe box of the Anasazi simply can't do.

Edging and smearing up a smooth, volcanic slab in the Anasazi.

Ease of Use

It doesn't get much easier than a Velcro slipper with a padded split tongue.

Other slipper-style shoes that match the Anasazi in the ease of use metric are the Evolv Kira and the Mad Rock Lotus (though the Lotus has a longer break-in period and a more aggressive shape). The Velcro closure on the Anasazi are especially easy to use and not over-designed, like some of the other models we tested. The Velcro is durable, and there is ample padding in the tongue, so you can cinch these shoes down a ton for a true performance fit if you desire.

Best Applications

The Anasazi is best used as a shoe for multi-pitch climbs or vertical to less-than-vertical climbing. The padded tongue and well-constructed upper made this shoe a great crack climbing shoe. For toeing in on steep sport climbs or boulders, the Anasazi is not the best option. But, for vertical climbing and edging the Anasazi performs well.

The easy-to-use Velcro closure of the Anasazi is quick and allows you to fine tune your fit.

Value

At $165, the Anasazi is an investment. The rubber seemed to wear out quickly, which means these shoes would need to get resoled after frequent use, adding to the overall cost. More durable and, in our opinion, better overall shoes come at this price, such as the La Sportiva Miura and the La Sportiva Kataki. The design of the Anasazi is not all that revolutionary, and their construction makes them a decent, middle of the pack model.

Conclusion

If you want as little material as possible between your toe and the rock, this is the shoe to get. For crack climbing, small edges and face holds, this is a very responsive shoe. It is also more comfortable than a lot of the more aggressive shoes in this review, making it great for multi-pitch climbing. This performance shoe has a flat shape and a more welcoming fit than other shoes like the Miura that offers a similar level of performance but has a more aggressive shape.